There were a plethora of positives to focus on for the New York Mets in the wake of their three-inning intra-squad game at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie on Friday. Chief among them was a solid outing from left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi.

Lucchesi missed half of the 2021 season and all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’s been slowly making his way back over the first couple of weeks of spring training.

Friday represented the first opportunity for the 29-year-old to throw in an in-game situation since coming back, aside from a couple of Minor League rehab games. While it wasn’t an official spring training game, Lucchesi still looked good and it marked an important step in his comeback.

“To be honest with you, I was a little anxious, like good nerves,” Lucchesi said after the game. “Got all the boys and coaches watching and the fans, it was the first adrenaline jump I got so it was cool to get out there and get it out of the way. It was very fun though. This was a little different because I’m not on the rehab list and like it is full go. It was a lot of fun.”

Lucchesi did give up a bloop single to Brett Baty to leadoff the game, but that would be the only hit the lefty would surrender all outing. He settled in after that and was near spotless, giving up just one walk while facing seven batters in total over two innings of work.

“I thought I did well,” Lucchesi said. “I mean, I could have attacked the strike zone a little bit better. To be honest with myself, I was behind in the count, that’s why I gave up that one hit to Baty, but I’m happy with (Friday). It was the first live, my first game is Wednesday and I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

Lucchesi wasn’t the only one happy after a productive outing. Mets manager Buck Showalter – entering into his second year on the job – felt it was a big step forward for the pitcher and saw pitching in an intra-squad game as one of the final big hurdles to navigate.

“Big day for Joey to get out there and be healthy through two innings,” Showalter said. “It doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s been a long path for him. You can tell he’s got a lot of juice flying and it was a big day for him. I don’t lose sight of that. There were a lot of emotions there and I think he’ll only get better and better. I don’t care how much you throw inside, I don’t care how much you throw in sim games, I don’t care how much you throw in rehab and whatever in the offseason, there’s a different feel when games are being played. We’ll see how he feels (on Saturday) but if he gets through that and can just start thinking about getting people out as opposed to ‘is that going to hurt?’ “It’s big for him. He’s crossed a lot of paths to get here but this is the final hurdle.”

The next step for Lucchesi will be getting through an actual spring training game unscathed. The 29-year-old, who was acquired from the Padres by the Mets in January 2021, felt he could have played a role out of the bullpen in the NL Wild Card series against his former team last year. The Mets declined that option but Lucchesi will have an opportunity to now prove he can play a role in 2023, be it as a depth starter or out of the bullpen. Whatever happens, he’s just focused on making the most of what is a fresh start.

“To be honest with you, I felt I could have contributed,” Lucchesi said of not being called-up late in 2022. “It’s not up to me but I definitely wanted to get the call up and help the team out, especially against my former team. “It was out of my control so I was a little sad, but it’s a new year so just look ahead.”